PART V

PART VI

Volume IX - The Unity of Religious Ideals

Part III

THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY

i

The idea of a spiritual hierarchy has always been discussed
in all ages, and especially at this time when people have many
more divergent conceptions regarding spiritual problems. The
spiritual hierarchy is not a product of man's imagination. It
is not only a poetic idea; but it is as real as one's own being.
Among hills and mountains there are small mountains and there
are big mountains. Among rivers there are smaller and larger
rivers; and all through nature one finds the evidence of nature's
hierarchy.

What gives us the best picture of life is the sky with the
planets, and the sun apart as a giver of light and life. When
we consider all the planets, including the moon, we shall find
they are all receptacles of light, reflecting the light of the
sun according to their capacity. The moon functions to the greatest
degree as a receptacle of this same light.

According to the mystical point of view, if it were not for
the moon the whole cosmos would go to pieces, for the reason
that the central currents of the sun are functioning in the
moon, which reflects the light of the sun in fullness. The difference
is that as it is only the reflection of the sun, though a full
reflection, it has finer currents of light. These are soft,
cooling, attractive, and beautiful. Therefore, the light of
the sun is called Jalal by the Sufi's, and the light
of the moon Jamal. The former expresses power, the latter
beauty. The former is creative, the latter responsive. It is
the sun which has the light; the moon possess the light of the
sun, not its own. God is the Knower, and the All wise, and the
one who gives His message gives God's knowledge, not his own.
What the moon may seem to give as light, is not its own. It
is the light of the sun; and so it has been with the messengers
at all times. People have heard them speak, and therefore they
called it the message of Buddha or of Christ or of Muhammad;
but in reality the message was always God's.

All beings in the world are the receptacles of God's message;
not only human beings, but also even the lower creation. All
objects and all conditions convey to us the message of the one
and only Being. But the difference is that although they convey
the message of God, they do not know it. They are not conscious
of it. Not only objects but also, even human beings are unconscious
of it. If they only knew that there is nothing in this world
which is not the instrument of God.

As there are more useful and less useful objects, so there
are more important and less important human beings. If they
were all equal, there would not have been the diversity of different
ranks and positions in a state. There would not have been generals
and colonels in the army, but only soldiers. There would not
have been high and low notes on the piano but only one key,
one note, one sound. There would not have been different rooms
in the house but every room would have been a drawing room.
This shows that it is a necessity of life that there should
be a hierarchy, either by election or by appointment, for the
world cannot exist without it. Aristocracy and democracy are
not two things, but essentially one; and in both cases there
is only one chief thing, and that is hierarchy. When it is right,
it is called aristocracy; when it goes wrong and a new spirit
comes to rebuild it, this process is a state of democracy. It
is natural that man should be agitated over one thing when he
wants to build something else. He revolts against everything
that existed before, and so, in rebuilding, this revolutionary
spirit often acts to his disadvantage.

Just as there is a system of government externally, so there
is also a system of inward government. One can see this government
in every family too. There is a king in every family; there
are ministers, counselors, partakers of his responsibility,
and servants who are paid for their work. Taking the universe
as one whole, it also has a system of government. There is a
system of government in the sky. There is the sun, then there
is the moon, which is directly focused on the sun, there are
the principal planets, which surround it, and there are the
stars. And on the model of the heavens the inner and outer governments
of the earth are planned.

Man's body is arranged in the same way. There is one principal
factor, then there are working factors like servants, then the
principal ministers, and when one takes the being of a man,
from his soul to his body it is one complete kingdom, constituted
of all the necessary officials and servants, making one's being
like a kingdom. Thus in all circumstances there will always
be a king. No democratic ideal, however much it may be against
the aristocratic form, will ever succeed in life without forming
a kingdom; the only difference is that if the head or leader
is not called King he will be named President.

In the spiritual hierarchy, there are seven grades of spiritual
souls, and each grade is divided into two classes, Jalal
and Jamal. And descending from the combination of these
two spirits there comes a third line as a central line. This
is the spirit of prophecy, which is called the Spirit of Guidance.
It has never been necessary for any of the members of the hierarchy
to make claims for themselves. In this world of falsehood there
are many false claims, and in the worldly life even the real
claims are no more true than false. Also, there is no reason
why these claims should be made, since the holders of these
offices can serve their purpose better by being silent than
by announcing themselves.

Every office in the world is accompanied by a certain amount
of vanity, and vanity is the greatest enemy of spiritual people.
Then there is always the jealousy of human nature at work, and
also the competition and rivalry that give stimulus to life
in the world. That is why the office has always been concealed
by the spiritual office-holders, except by the teachers who
had to give the message of God to the people. And how many in
the world would not believe the teacher unless they knew he
was the office-bearer from God!

The lives of the teachers were the example and proof of their
office. They had no other evidence but that. Miracles only became
known afterwards. Legends were formed afterwards. Poems were
made afterwards. Temples were built afterwards. Their following
increased afterwards, and their words were valued afterwards.
But during their lifetime they met with nothing but opposition
and the inconstancy of their followers, who agreed one day and
disagreed the next. They suffered all sorts of ordeals, even
crucifixion.

The teacher's position is more delicate than that of the
master, because he must make claims and be among the people.
And being among people is like being a bird coming from a distant
forest and arriving in a strange land. All the other birds,
finding it different from themselves, wish to fight it and torture
it, and even kill it. That has been the lot of the prophet at
all times, and it will always be the same. The last one left
a warning for the one who would come after him, which was that
the prophecy was sealed. He did not mean by this that the work
of the Spirit of Guidance was sealed; it was a clue for his
successor that since the claim was now sealed, in the future
the message should be given without a claim, and it would be
the work that was done that would prove its genuineness, instead
of a claim.

ii

According to the Sufi conception there are seven degrees
in the spiritual hierarchy, which can be distinguished as different
stages of responsiveness, in other words of higher initiation.
They are: Pir, Buzurg, Wali, ghaus, Qutb, Nabi, Rasul.
These are the degrees belonging to the inner initiation to which
a disciple becomes entitled after receiving the necessary outer
initiations. It is beyond words to express what inner initiation
means and in what form it is given. Those to whom the inner
initiation is unknown may explain it as a dream or as a vision,
but in reality it is something higher and greater than that.
I can only explain it by saying that the definite changes which
take place during one's journey on the spiritual path are initiations,
and it is these initiations which include man in the spiritual
hierarchy.

People call them masters, but in reality they are pupils;
for in point of fact no one in the world is a master save God.
Man's privilege is to become a greater pupil. Therefore none
of the great ones have called themselves masters, nor have they
considered themselves to be so. What they have known in their
lives is the privilege of opening their hearts wider and wider
to reflect the light of the Master who is God Himself. The progress
of these high initiates is according to their responsiveness,
for they have never connected themselves with what they have
expressed.

Very often parents say something to their child in which
there is the voice of God. Very often a kind friend suggests
something to his friends, out of his love and sympathy, which
happens to be a message of God. Sometimes a teacher says an
inspiring word, which is like a word coming direct from God.
Even from an innocent child a word may come as a warning from
God; for all faces are His faces, and from all lips it is His
word that comes, whenever it comes, but those who respond to
Him become as His appointed servants. People call them Chosen
Ones; but in reality God has chosen all, for all souls are near
to the Creator. But the soul who is attached to the lips of
God like a trumpet becomes the herald of His message, and what
comes through his lips is not his own words, but the message
of God.

In the life of a saint or master five degrees can be recognized,
the progress of the saint and of the master being silent in
the last two degrees; but in the life of a prophet all seven
degrees are manifested to view. A saint or a master has one
facility. He can do his work avoiding the notice of the world.
But the life of the prophet compels him to go into the world,
and thus, as he progresses from grade to grade through his life,
he cannot hide himself, however much he may want to, from the
gaze of the world. However, the sage of every category and degree,
be he a saint, master or prophet, always prefers to remain unknown
to the world; and as he progresses that desire increases. It
is not only out of modesty or humbleness, but also for the protection
of the spiritual ideal which has developed in him, for it attracts
dangers of all sorts when it is exposed to the common gaze.
All beauty is veiled by nature and the higher the beauty, the
more it is concealed. This makes it easy for a wise man to find
out the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet,
for one beats his drums and the other tries to keep in the background.
If only his work in the world would let him remain there! But
his efforts to accomplish something bring him to the notice
of the world. However, his longing is to be unknown, for the
only one who really deserves to be known is God.

The work of the Pir is helping individuals toward
the unfoldment of their soul, and that of the Buzurg
is to help by the power of his soul those who wish to advance
spiritually.

Wali is the initiate whose will has come close to the
divine will, and he shows it in the harmony which reigns in
his own life, not only with his friends, but he will also be
in harmony with an adversary. He shows harmony with the changing
weather and its different influences, and he is in harmony with
all that he eats and drinks. He is in harmony with the place
he lives and moves about in, and he harmonizes with all atmospheres.
And so his will becomes the will of God; in other words, the
will of God becomes his will. He may control a community, keeping
it on the right track, but he mostly does the work for which
he is appointed in an unobtrusive way. The greater a person
is in spiritual advancement, the less assuming he becomes, and
the more he avoids every show of piety or spirituality.

ghaus is the next grade of the initiates. The influence
of the ghaus is wider. He gives up his personality wholly
to the divine guidance, and wherever this ghaus may
be there will be an atmosphere of protection from all kinds
of dangers such as floods, storms, plagues, or famines. He promotes
the spiritual well being of a community.

Qutb is the third degree of a master, a still higher
grade, when his mind becomes focused on the divine mind, and
he has, to a lesser or greater extent, power over all elements,
as well as influence upon life. Under him there is a dominion
in which he is responsible for the order and peace of souls.
He governs a country or nation spiritually.

Nabi is the apostle, called in Sanskrit Bodhisattva,
whose spirit reflects the Spirit of Guidance. His work is mainly
the giving of the message in the form of warning, awakening,
preaching, teaching, and inspiring those to whom he may be sent.
He comes into the lives of those who are meant to be guided
along the spiritual path. He is sent to nations when they are
meant to change their conditions. He is sent to a community
or race to give warnings. He is meant to be a reformer at the
times when a reformer is needed. He elevates individuals and
bears a divine message.

Rasul is the world-messenger, who comes for all people
at the time of the world's need, and brings with him that inspiration,
influence, and power which will harmonize humanity. He may be
a king or a pauper; in whatever condition he comes, he will
fulfill the purpose of his coming to earth. Answering the cry
of humanity, he fulfills the purpose of his mission. The sign
of Rasul is the crescent, which represents a responsive
heart.

No man in the world has the power to give these higher initiations.
They are given by God himself, and the initiates prove their
initiations not in their claims, but in their works. The soul
rises to that stage where manhood ends and godhead begins, enters
the initiation of the spiritual hierarchy, and then he is neither
man nor God. He is not God, because he is limited man; and he
is not man, because he is God-conscious.